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Meryl Streep1949–, American actress, born in Summit, N.J.

She attended Yale Drama School and appeared in many Broadway and off-Broadway productions during the early 1970s. Moving to Hollywood, she made her film debut in Julia (1977). One of the most acclaimed film actresses of her generation, the coolly elegant Streep is famous for the superb technique she employs in her varied and often uncannily telling portrayals—from the edgily ironic wife of Kramer vs. Kramer (1979; Academy Award) to the anguished Polish émigré of Sophie's Choice (1982; Academy Award), the rebellious factory worker of Silkwood (1983), and the accused Australian mother of A Cry in the Dark (1988). Among her other motion pictures are The Deer Hunter (1978), The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981), Out of Africa (1985), Postcards from the Edge (1990), Death Becomes Her (1992), The Bridges of Madison County (1995), and One True Thing (1998). She has also appeared in several television dramas.